Julie Bishop Weatherington Rice

Dr. Julie Bishop Paynter Weatherington-Rice, PhD, age 77, of Worthington, Ohio, gently and unexpectedly passed away at home due to heart failure on the afternoon of January 26, 2025. Her parents’ families settled in parts of Wisconsin and Illinois. Her parents, Charles Paynter and Margaret Bishop, met each other while enrolled at Northwestern University. Charles and Margaret married and lived in Chicago before becoming parents. On July 14, 1948, Julie was born in Springfield, Missouri, the first of three daughters. Soon, Jill Reese joined the family, and later, their youngest sister, Natalie Endsley. The family lived in the Chicago area and then settled in rural Indiana. The Paynter household was filled with music from old jazz records, folk music, and a collection of instruments played by everyone. The family enjoyed summers visiting family in Wisconsin, fishing, playing cards, and telling stories. Julie developed her love of nature and the environment through countless hours spent exploring the woods and wetlands around her home in Indiana. Her father, a trained chemist, moved the family to Bexely, Ohio when Julie was in the 10th grade. Moving to Columbus, Ohio was a big change for the family. It was also the start of many lifelong friendships and relationships for Julie. With the exception of a few years, Julie called central Ohio home for almost 60 years. She met Craig Weatherington and the two were married in 1968 for more than 10 years. Along the way, they enrolled at The Ohio State University (OSU) and met a cast of colorful characters and roommates. During these years, Julie learned to cook for an army, and never was able to adjust her recipes for a smaller group. Her chest freezer was often well-stocked with deliciously crafted homemade meals. Inheriting her father’s scientific mind, she enrolled in OSU’s teaching school and earned a BS in Science Education. Her student teaching was at Worthington’s then new experimental high school, Linworth. Teaching ended up being her entry point into the field of earth sciences. While she was a formal teacher for only a short time, these skills served her well throughout her long career. Coming of age in the budding environmental movement, she helped to organize the first Earth Day celebration in Barberton, Ohio. Deciding her passion was for science, she enrolled in OSU’s School of Geology and was the second woman to graduate from the program. While she worked on her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she was employed at the main library on campus. She spent nearly 10 years working at the library making friends, learning new things, and reading countless books. Her home library contains thousands of books. As she often said, “Some people have big houses and fancy cars. We have degrees and lots of books.” In the late 1970s, she and Craig parted ways. Soon after, her dear friend Gloria arranged for Julie to go on a date with Edward Lloyd Rice. Ed was also a bookworm, and an avid rock hound. He was recovering from the unexpected loss of his wife, Ellen. He and Julie found they were just what the other had been searching for, and together they helped to heal one another. After a brief courtship, they were married, and were together for nearly 40 years until Ed’s death in 2017. They had three children, Adam Augustus Paynter Rice, in 1980; James Edward Arthur Rice, in 1983, who only survived five weeks; and Susan Alice Rice, in 1984. The family moved to Worthington, Ohio, in 1982, and into Julie’s last home. Julie’s experience with the schools and the community’s New England roots appealed to her. She was the family historian, memory keeper, storyteller, and loved genealogy. She was very pleased to trace her roots back to the Plymouth Colony and further back to England. Julie’s desire to give back to her community took many forms over the years. She helped to set up the Worthington Farmers Market, which is one of the oldest and largest of such markets in Ohio. She served for many years on the Walnut Grove and Flint Cemetery Advisory Board. Over the years, she offered her time and expertise to elected officials, grassroots organizations, and clients trying to figure out how to protect their communities and waters. She worked tirelessly to help protect the people of Ohio from environmental destruction and deceitful practices. She began her career working for Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (1978-1979), Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District (1980-1983), and private pratice with Leslie Thompson and Associates (1983-1986). In October of 1986 she started her long journey with Bennett & Williams Environmental Consultants, an engineering firm specializing in hydrogeology. This small and mighty family firm became a second family to Julie. She and her peers spent countless hours traveling around Ohio, working to improve landfill sighting and investigate landfill impacts, sighting water supply wells for municipalities and investigating ground water contamination from many sources. She spent many Friday nights in the office with Linda and crew, while Adam and Susan enjoyed pizza and video rentals in the conference room. Julie was an excellent example of slow and steady progress. She was 30 when she got her driver's license, 32 when she became a parent, and 42 when she started her PhD program at OSU. Taking one class a quarter, while working full-time and helping to raise two teenagers in school, the task was a marathon rather than a sprint. During this time period she balanced work, school, and involvement with her kids’ lives. She attended as many of her children’s events as she could. She devoted her limited energy and time to make sure her kids were supported as they finished school and entered adulthood. After 14 years of hard work and effort, she officially became Dr. Weatherington-Rice. Earning this degree opened up a new line of work as an expert witness for court cases centered around water quality issues. Her work, and love of travel, took her to nearly every U.S. state and almost every county in Ohio. As she slowly entered into (semi) retirement, she kept very busy. With a tablet or computer always nearby, she was often writing reports and letters to help her many organizations. A “perfect week” would have featured gardening, crocheting, jewelry making, jigsaw puzzles, enjoying tea time with Susan, discussing various topics with Adam, spending time with her grandchildren, watching old movies, cooking large meals, listening to classic rock, video calls with various community groups, and reading books into the wee hours of the night while petting a cat. She was full of confidence, determination, and energy right up until the end. She was the “old timer” who wanted to retire, but was also committed to making sure important things were being worked on. She used to joke that the only way she could ever retire would be to move out of Ohio. The truth is, she would have found, or started, other groups to continue to fight to protect the environment and the people. As she often said of environmental protection, social services, mental health awareness, and affordable housing “it’s all connected and it’s all important.” We can only begin to express how much she cared about ALL of us. Julie was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Margaret; son, James; and husband, Ed. She is survived by her daughter, Susan; son, Adam, and daughter-in-law Jamie; grandchildren, Allan and Calvin; sisters, Jill and Natalie; many cousins; and numerous “adopted” protégés. SAVE THE DATE Public visitation hours will be held on Friday, July 25, 2025, from 5:00 - 7:00 pm at Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home, 515 High Street, Worthington, Ohio 43085. Julie’s Celebration of Life for family and close friends will be on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at 10:00 am at Flint Cemetery, 8187 Flint Rd, Columbus, Ohio 43235. A large public celebration will be held in early 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. More details to come. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Julie’s name to Buckeye Environmental Network, Association of Ohio Pedologists, ACLU, PBS, NPR, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, or another environmental nonprofit organization of your choice. https://benohio.org/give/ https://www.ohiopedologist.org/store/p21/Donation_to_AOP.html https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-ohio https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/support-pbs/ https://www.npr.org/donations/support https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org

Julie Bishop Weatherington Rice

July 14, 1948 - January 26, 2025